Posts Tagged ‘Crafts’
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Selling the Sizzle
On the first hot and sunny day for several weeks makers came from far and wide to listen to inspirational speakers for our summer event in Inverness.
‘Selling the Sizzle’ was Tina Rose’s suggestion for a title and it seemed very appropriate,and all the more so, as the day progressed and each speaker had another tale to tell about how they go about selling work. We were certainly feeling the sizzle by the end of the day!
To get things started our keynote speakers were Professor Georgina Follet and Dr Louise Valentine who outlined the exciting plans for the V&A at Dundee and what this will mean to makers and designers. To have this amazing resource in Scotland as soon as 2015 is a huge undertaking but with support, funding and the drive of a focused team is seems it will happen – I for one can’t wait.
Selling the Sizzle, Dr Louise Valentine and Melanie Muir
Deirdre Neilson is a name that is familiar to many of us -as artist in resident, mentor and textile artist extraordinaire but her talk was about how she has completely embraced all the new Social Media to promote her work. If everyone was not Tweeting by the end of the day they should be!
Then to get everyone talking we had a first – Speedcraft! The brainchild of Tina with assistance from Carol, it was a brilliant way to get people talking about their work, making new contacts and exchanging ideas.
In the afternoon we continued our theme with four speakers each with a different approach to retailing.
Maggie Broadly from West Kilbride and Craft Town Scotland, Steph Marsden from Edinburgh’s Craft House Concept, Emma Blain from the Shetland group Text- Isles and finally Carrie and Clare from Made in the Shade in Glasgow.
The day was aimed at getting makers and retailers to look at new ways of selling, to inspire and enthuse! We certainly did that and I don’t think I have seen such an animated group of makers in one place for a long time.
Selling the Sizzle
Our event was another of HI-Arts Crafts promotions to support the sector in developing their work and to assist them to find new markets.
Through our Mentoring to Market programme makers have researched shows from Origin to Country Living.We took a group to London and Craft Central in May to showcase their work and then another group headed to Germany and EU-inqe trade and retail show. All have come back with similar tales of declining sales, the huge costs of exhibiting and all through no fault of the organisers or the quality of work on show. The public seem to love their work but very few are buying.
So where do we go from here? Are the days of trade and retail shows over as makers are getting less and less keen to commit to the outlay with no guarantee of sales?
I personally feel that the time is ripe to look at new ways of selling and to be creative with your approach.
Use social media to promote, think local and niche events, look at new customers in areas you may not have considered, get together with like minded makers for pop up shops and party events, be as imaginative as you can. And when the economic storm has passed – as it eventually will – you will be ready to take on the world!
Whatever you do, if your work means anything to you, you must not give up but see change as a new and exciting opportunity.
Pamela Conacher 8th June 2011
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A trip report, Stockholm Furniture Fair 2011
As you walk into the main hall at the Stockholm furniture fair you are instantly overwhelmed by the scale of the furniture manufacturing industry in Scandinavia. This is not because of the size of the hall or the number of products on show but the fact that most of the companies and the designers there are Swedish or Scandinavian, something which other trade fairs of the same scale cannot compete with. For a nation of only 9 million there is a sense that Sweden punch above their weight when it comes to the mass production of designed goods, whether it’s the flat packed furnishings of IKEA to the fashion market leaders H&M, Sweden knows how to sell design.
Many of the big producers were showing new products by high profile local designers such as Offecct’s new Oasis collection which contains pieces by Front, Claesson Koivisto Rune and Monica Förster as well as new work from Italian designer Luca Nichetto, someone who was very well received by the Swedes during this year’s show. Other new products on show were the various new lamps for Zero who this year had collaborated with designers such as TAF, Front, Jonas Forsman and a strange collaboration with Karim Rashid, something which in my option really didn’t tie into the rest of Zero’s minimal collection. Other highlights were Inga Sempe’s new work for Gärsnäs, Jonas Wagell’s ceramic collection for Danish brand Muuto and the new HAY collection which had one of my personal highlights and surprises in Scholten & Baijings new textile collection which included graphic bedcovers, kitchen towels and dishcloths. Not something I would usually find exciting.
Next to the main hall is the infamous Greenhouse section which showcases the Scandinavian schools and the recent graduates. This is seen as a great place to see emerging trends and to spot new studios before they make it big. As usual the quality of work there was very high and there were even signs of some highly conceptual craft objects, something which is usually confined to the Dutch or London graduation shows. This year’s show was curated by Jens Fager, someone who was a past success at the Greenhouse when he showcased his Grovhugget Anno 2008 as a Konstfack graduate. The room was set out like circus this year with large stripy tents and a circus ring like space in the center which contained the curated ‘Ung’ exhibition which happens bi-annually, showcasing the best young designers based in Sweden. This seemed like an amazing platform for upcoming designers as there was a lot of focus on the event and after the fair the exhibition will travel the whole world giving these designers an amazing chance to get noticed on a global market as well as marketing the whole thing to show a strong and exciting emerging Swedish design scene. Something Scotland could learn from in terms of National marketing. In fact it makes me proud to think that there was actually something similar for Highland graduates during the ‘New Highland Graduates’ exhibition which I was lucky enough to be part of in 2009. How great would it be to see the whole country try out something similar and tour it across Europe or worldwide?
In the main entrance to the fair stood a seating installation which was designed by this year’s guest of honour Arik Levy. In this space people were offered a chance to relax after all the walking in the halls and take time out to listen to the lectures which were taking place just next to it. Some of these included guest talks, one of which seemed very much like a design version of Letterman with all the intro music and the host chatting to his co-host who sat behind him playing a piano. Some talks were a bit more formal with discussions on future trends and what a designer’s role will be in the future. One of the more thought provoking discussions was a look at what the meeting place of the future will be and how will it affect the way we work and communicate professionally.
Outside the main fair there were also many great satellite exhibitions and openings. One of the most talked about this year was the launch of Form Us With Love’s new collection which included many industry collaborations including exterior lighting and seating, a new interior lamp and a modular sound absorbing concept. The opening for this year’s collection (Form Us With Friends) was once again the place to be with many well-known designers and industry celebrities being spotted at the event. Another talked about show was the ‘20 Designers at Biologiska’ which contained objects by young and established designers shown amongst the diorama at the National Biological gallery. In this show curious objects stood among stuffed animals and dried plants inside the vitrines of the museum creating an interesting environment to show work which was extremely refreshing.
On a personal note one of my favourite events was the launch of Fronts new ‘Front Page’ magazine stand for Italian manufacturer Kartell, a project which I had worked on with them whilst living in Stockholm. It was great to see the final piece in production and it will be interesting to see how well it sells.
After a week of openings, events, talks and parties it can be hard to see past the superficial side of the industry as the designers are placed on pedestals for the week and design fans flock in their hundreds to see what they consider just to be ‘cool’ stuff. From my point of view what impressed me the most was really the amount of support the creators receive within the country and the interest the general public have in well designed and well made goods. Many events in town even made the peak news show’s which is unheard of in the UK. If Scotland wants to learn how to become a more creative and more importantly a supportive country for creative industries they should have a look at what they are doing over the other side of the North Sea.
Nick Ross, February 2011
Web: www.nckrss.com -
We need Exhibitions!
On Wednesday I spent the day in Edinburgh with a group of colleagues discussing, amongst other issues, curating craft exhibitions.
Amongst all the doom and gloom of funding cuts and the difficulties of making exhibition happen in the current climate it is easy to lose sight of how important the curation of high quality craft exhibitions can and should be.
Lizzie Farey - Spirit of the Air (detail)
An exhibition can inspire, enthuse, teach and give pleasure but at another level it can change your way of thinking and move your own work on a new creative journey. And that is just for the audience!
For the maker, creating work for exhibition can give you the freedom to create new work within a framework – an exciting proposal that can free you from the constraints of the day to day of making and move your work onto a completely new level and direction.
You can gain respect from your peers, acknowledgment from the public and all this often leads onto new opportunities. One of the greatest pleasures is reading comments from people who are not friends or family and who have been moved to write about your exhibition in a positive way!
Our second year of Spotlight exhibitions will open on the 30th April 2011 and our four Making Progress makers are all planning and working away on their designs. Not only do they have to concentrate on new work but they also have to think about layout, the practical constrictions of the space, display, publicity, openings, invites and a hundred other things.
So often the public just think all this happens without too much effort; you spend 30 minutes looking round a show, think ‘that was great’ and walk away not realising how much blood, sweat and tears went into it all!
I had this brought back to me at the end of a wonderful and inspiring talk on Wednesday by Professor Lesley Millar about the exhibitions she had curated, often with Japan. See www.texturalspace.com.
Just seeing the list of funders and sponsors at the end made me sigh – all those months of funding applications, report writing and waiting with baited breath to see if your dream can happen. And then the joy of knowing it can go ahead and wondering what on earth you have taken on. And then the months and sometimes years of pulling it all together – you can only do this is you are truly passionate about your subject, anything less and you would give up!
Or the disappointment of going back to the drawing board and trying to think of other ways to raise funds and make it all happen and not giving up with the setbacks.
On my way home I had the real pleasure of finishing off my day by a visit to the City Art Centre and Lizzie Farey’s ‘Spirit of the Air’ exhibition. To see how she has moved her use of materials from basketmaking to wall and aerial sculptures is inspiring and moving. Drawing in air with willow has freed her from the constrains of closely woven structures and has moved her work in a really exciting direction.
The pleasure for the public is immense but for Lizzie on her creative journey it must be life changing. As all good exhibitions should be!
Pamela Conacher
18/02/11 -
Crafting Together
Crafting Together
Many of our projects address the need for our makers to get together; sometimes in a formal way through events such as Makers Days and at other times it just happens that the people involved hit it off and before we know it an informal group has emerged with very little intervention on our part!
Feeling isolated can be a real problem when you live and work in a remote area and anything that can be done to help with this is a really positive and essential aspect of the work we do.
Informal groups have sprung up from Makers Days, our visit to Stroud International Textile Festival, from our Making Progress mentoring project and many of the research visits we have arranged.
Emails and social networking go a long way but sometimes you can’t beat a good blether over tea (and cakes!).
Our latest visit to London and Craft Central brought this home once more.
Members of Craft Central are part of a network of UK makers who can rent studio space in two wonderful buildings in Clerkenwell and participate in many of the events organised there including Open Studio selling days and exhibitions as well as business support and workshops. For obvious reasons a large number of the makers live and work in London but some (and that includes several from Scotland) use the organisation as their London studio, giving them an affordable way of reaching new markets but also the opportunity to meet other members.
Makers that I spoke with said that having the support system of the others in studios near by is one of the most important aspects of membership.
Our makers don’t often have such a luxury so we need to do all we can to put our own systems in place.
Through our Mentoring to Market programme we are delighted to be able to now have the opportunity for our makers to become members of Craft Central and to benefit from a London base, new contacts and networks.
We will be featuring more on this development on the website but it is one positive way of increasing our profile and gives our makers a chance to work together and with a new group of people.
As we stopped to take a break at the end of a hectic day – and yes more tea and cakes were involved – we reflected on how to make the very best of our London connections.
We are so fortunate to be based in an area that inspires and gives our makers’ work such a strong identity and now we can dip into city life and all the new opportunities that this will bring.
Throughout the next few months we will be strengthening our London links and in May 2011 we will be showing our makers work to this new audience with our Highland Showcase.
I can’t wait to see the results!
After such an inspiring trip it was back to battling snow, delayed trains, flights and the cold road home and the reality of the distances involved between London and the Highlands. Hopefully we can do something to make this less even if we can’t control the travel aspect!
Pamela Conacher
November 2010
www.craftcentral.org.uk
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Collect
Collect
Our group visit last week was for makers who aspire to participate at Collect in the future. It was good to have a group who, once more spent time together catching up, discussing their own practice and wonderful to see them realise that their work is on a level with much that is on show.
Collect is very much about selling to a high end market and to be able to see work from all over the world in one place is a rare opportunity. As usual, after a day or night of travel much of the first day is spent absorbing the atmosphere, people watching, forgetting to eat, resting weary feet and being amazed by all that is on display and the prices people are happy to pay!Visiting London is always hectic as you want to cram in as many exhibitions and gallery visits as you can in a short space of time, take that experience home with you and then digest it all in the relative peace and tranquillity of the Highlands!
Collect is constantly inspiring, sometimes amusing and occasionally disappointing. The majority of the work is exquisitely made and pushes the boundaries of what is perceived as Craft, reflected in the fact that the show is called the International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects.
To see work by makers who you have long admired is a real treat and one of my favourite occupations is to go round picking the work I would buy if I had unlimited funds. You find new makers, new work by makers you know and work that you do wonder ‘how on earth did that get in’! But generally the quality is of the very highest and the gallery stands beautifully displayed.
Many red dots had appeared by the end of the Private View which goes to show that people are still buying; indeed both the Scottish Gallery and the National Craft Gallery, Ireland had sold most of their work by the end of the first day.
As well as our visit to Collect, our group visited several other galleries including the V&A and work at Fortnum and Mason ‘Handmade’. This display was really interesting as it was a selling exhibition in a very well known retail shop. Work from 50 makers was of the highest level and featured work for the home and in particular, food and dining. Many displays were on old tables so you could see and touch the work and it took away the gallery feel making it all more accessible.
It was a pleasure to see work by Tain based Glasstorm included as well as several makers from Cornwall that I had not come across before. I will be doing some more research as it is a wonderful way of retailing craft to an upmarket audience and an approach that is to be commended.
Once more, it struck me that so much can be achieved by getting makers together at events such as this. I personally value the time I get to discuss makers practice and problems as well as feel that relationships are strengthened and anything is possible with such strong and creative people working in the sector in the Highlands!
Pamela Conacher
17/05/10
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Picture Perfect
I always love getting new images sent through to me, whether it is for the crafts newsletter which we send out every month, the online galleries or for Making Progress web pages on the HI-Arts website – it’s great to see examples of makers work from throughout the Highlands and Islands.
We are also putting together a postcard to promote the work of the Making Progress makers in the very near future - I will be sure to include a copy on these pages for all to see. Keep up to date with all things ‘craft’ by visiting the craft pages on the HI-Arts website and checking into the news section: http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/Crafts/
Topics
Crafts Links
- Bishoplands Educational Trust
- Craft Central
- Craft Council
- CraftScotland
- Craftspace
- Dovecot Studios
- HI-Arts Crafts Development
- HI-Arts Making Progress Mentoring Scheme
- Innovative Crafts
- Stroud International Textile Festival
- Taking Time
- www.text-isles.com